I feel like it is important that Alma starts by remind them
of things they know are true. It gives you something solid to build your faith
on when things are less clear. He talks about how the people were saved because
they had faith, put their trust in God and then endured faithfully to the end.
This is a pattern that keeps repeating lately. Patience and endurance are
things that are very difficult for me, but I feel like God is telling me I need
to work on that.
It seems like Alma is saying that a change of heart is a
change to eternal perspective in your daily life. He talks about looking
forward with faith to yourself resurrected and standing before God. If that is
what you think about and make decisions based on then you have changed to being
concerned about things of eternal significance. When I read things like this,
it fills me with hope, because I know that is where I am now. I am trusting
God’s redemption, and trying (super imperfectly) to follow Him faithfully. I am grateful that God gives me feelings of
rejoicing and praise along with his gentle course corrections.
And then Alma starts listing all of my sins, and I feel less
happy with myself. I struggle constantly with pride and mocking people and know
I need to repent. My heart aches because
of my imperfections. I am so grateful for the atonement that gives me the
option and ability to do better and repent.
The verse about the shepherd still calling on the sheep that
won’t hear is so tender. It makes me think about the things I learned and felt
as I read The God Who Weeps. I feel how much he loves me, and all of his children
and it makes me want to help more and love others better.
I love how black and white Alma is. That whatever is good comes
from God and whatever is evil comes from the devil. I always want everything to
be that simple, and really it is. I suppose the difficulty comes in not be tricked
about which is which. I also love that he just boldly says what is true, not worrying
about offending anyone by calling their sins sins. That is difficult, and I am impressed
with his faith unto boldness.
At the end of the chapter he is talking about teaching with the
Spirit. That is what gives him the surety to be bold. I felt that when I taught
the lesson on Joseph Smith. The Spirit gave me power to more boldly testify of his
being a true prophet than I have ever before felt on my own. It is so important
to teach by the Spirit so that they can feel the truth of it.
There it is again. The constant cry in the Book of Mormon about
not worrying about worldly riches and helping the poor and needy. I feel like it
means something specific in my life, but what is it?
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